The Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay boldly dealt away leading tackler Ernest Jones IV before the season. There was once zero thought that the Rams and Jones would cross paths in 2024 as he trekked to the Tennessee Titans.
That thought has since changed. The Rams will reunite with their past star linebacker Sunday, as he's now a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
McVay addressed facing Jones again via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press on Wednesday.
“I've been pleased with some of the things that guy has done. It'd be hard to deny the production that he's had,” McVay shared.
Jones was given permission by the Rams to seek a trade. The Rams swapped him in exchange for a fifth and conditional sixth-round pick for the 2026 NFL Draft to Tennessee. Seattle, however, traded for Jones on Oct. 24. The Titans earned linebacker Jerome Baker and a 2025 fourth-rounder in exchange.
McVay has still seen enough from the '24 version of Jones to cement that the former Rams LB will be a force on Sunday.
“When you look at what he's done at Tennessee and even in his first week there (with Seattle), he's a great player,” McVay said, who added how Jones “did a lot of great things for us.”
McVay and the Rams called it a “football decision” on why Jones got traded before the season.
“He was great for us for a few years. But we felt that this was best for our football team,” the head coach said via Rams team reporter Stu Jackson on Aug. 27.
This reunion features serious divisional implications. Jones' Seahawks are the NFC West leader at 4-3. However, the Rams trail by only one game.
Looking back at why Rams traded Ernest Jones
Jones was up for a contract extension as he was entering the last year of his rookie deal. He even cemented his status as a defensive captain by his third NFL season.
Ultimately the two sides never spoke about an extension. Jones carried a cap hit of $1,904,221 per Spotrac. The 24-year-old also missed organized team activities (OTAs) with a knee injury that carried over to training camp.
The trade still got viewed as a shock. Jones rose from third-round find to defensive star in a short time in L.A.
McVay and the Rams plucked him at No. 103 overall out of South Carolina. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound LB didn't take long to impress the Rams. L.A. gave him the green dot (reserved for the defender who relays the defensive play calls) during the preseason.
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He ended his rookie season in blessed fashion. Jones tallied seven tackles with six solo stops to lead the L.A. linebackers in Super Bowl LVI. The then-rookie tied with Aaron Donald and Von Miller by wrapping two stops behind the line of scrimmage. Jones eventually hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy in helping lead the 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jones improved his tackle numbers every season since. He collected 114 tackles in season two, then a career-best 145 in 2023. He also added a rare pass-rushing element last season — grabbing 4.5 sacks from his inside ‘backer spot.
The Seahawks witnessed his impact right away against the Buffalo Bills. He swooped up 15 total tackles despite the 31-10 loss.
McVay, again, doubled down that the trade was a “football decision.” Yet, his words indicate uncertainty that the trade was an accurate decision.
“I'm not going to pretend to act like every decision is accurate,” McVay said. “You try to be able to learn from it and apply it moving forward. But you know that you're playing against a well-respected player.”
The L.A. defense ranks 25th against the pass and run. Jones' former team is still entering the game riding a two-game winning streak.
